Kohl's Medallion Center

Hollywood may get most of the glory when it comes to the film
industry, but thanks to its unique location Kohl's Medallion Center
in northeast Dallas can also stake its claim to a small piece of
silver screen history. So how does a department store about 10
miles from downtown Dallas at the crossroads of the Vickery Meadow,
Lake Highlands and Northeast Dallas neighborhoods, have a place in
movie history?

Kohl's Medallion Center was opened in 2006 in the space once
occupied by the Medallion Theatre. When the movie house opened,
news reports describe a theatre whose "external appearance conforms
to the contemporary design" of the 1970s. The nondescript theatre
turned out to be anything but thanks to a then relatively unknown
director, Steven Spielberg.

After a sneak preview of his directorial debut went well at the
Medallion, Spielberg considered it a good-luck charm and decided to
return for a test screening of "Jaws," the first time the film was
ever shown in public. Tales of the screening have taken on a life
of their own over the years as have the number of people who claim
to have been there. Legend holds that two instances of flying
popcorn and one of a stomach-churned man running for the lobby
convinced Spielberg his new twist on horror would be a success. It
was.

A year later, Spielberg returned to the Medallion Center to
debut "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." If you're still not
convinced about the location's Hollywood connection, consider
Blockbuster Video opened its flagship store there in 1985.

The theatre (and Blockbuster) may be gone, but there's still
plenty worth exploring. Kohl's Medallion Center is easily
accessible via Skillman Avenue, Northwest Highway and Abrams Road.
So no matter what direction you're coming from – north from Dallas
or south from Richardson, east from Southern Methodist SMU or west
from Garland – Kohl's Medallion Center is here to make you the
star.